Politicizing Health Education: The War of Belief vs. Science

Tom Goddard — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 07:10:38 -0400

While it may be naïve to believe that any government post is beyond politics, one can at least hope that the position of Surgeon General of the United States might be less political than most.

Yet, it's utterly clear that it is not. And, no, this is not another Bush-bashing screed, although the current administration seems to have taken its politicization of the position beyond where his predecessors had gone. This morning's New York Times reports on testimony given yesterday before a congressional panel by Richard H. Carmona, C. Everett Koop, and David Satcher, all former surgeons general. Dr. Koop served in the Reagan administration, Dr. Satcher in the Clinton administration, and Dr. Carmona in the current Bush administration. I can chuckle about the perennial narcissism of politics when I read Dr. Carmona saying that he was required to mention President Bush three times on every page of his speeches. I have worked for politicians and I have written speeches, so this is both familiar and amusing.

I am far less amused by Dr. Carmona's tales of suppression of suppressing or watering down reports that can affect the health of millions of people.